Good article. I'm sure there are many stories just like this but it does suck to hear about the guys that were just so good but for whatever reason they never made it big. This story kinda reminds me of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, can't remember the name, about a really good football player that was also just a victim of circumstance. Who knows, maybe he can still do something basketball related, good luck to him.

I read Hoop Dreams long ago and it remains on my shelf right beside Mugsy's Bio which is filled with stories of his boys who didn't make it. It's sad but true. Everyone wants to blame the player but what 15 year old kid, especially one without a father and a mother always away at work*, can actually handle or even properly interpret all of the adults popping out of the woodwork telling him how great he is, how guaranteed a deal he is, putting money, drugs and women in his hands? If you've ever been a talent at anything as a kid you know how quickly your ego inflates without strong guidance from people who actually love you and care about you. I feel bad for this guy, it's not nearly a unique enough story and something needs to be done at a grassroots level. Especially, but not only, in the States.

I think AAU needs serious intervention from policy makers. I think the NCAA is a corrupt monolithic monopoly that exploits student athletes. Bill Simmons posited that he doesn't think anyone under the age of 18 should be allowed to be on reality TV because they really don't understand what they are getting involved in (especially true for the preteen and under set) and I think child athletes are getting way too high with all this exposure at such a young age.